The present invention relates to new unsaturated silane compounds. More particularly, the invention relates to radical-polymerizable monomers capable of forming a three-dimensional polymer having excellent transparency, high refractive index and high heat resistance.
As optical plastic materials, poly(methyl methacrylate), polycarbonates and diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate (CR-39) have been known.
However, poly(methyl methacrylate) and polycarbonates cannot be cut or polished easily, since they are linear, thermoplastic polymers.
The CR-39 resin has a defect that its refractive index is as low as 1.500 and, therefore, when it is used as a material for a lens, the thickness of center and edge of the formed lens are inevitably increased.
On the contrary, polymers containing silicon have generally high heat resistance and transparency.
The inventors prepared a silicon-containing polymerizable monomers having an aromatic ring and usable as a component for increasing the refractive index of resins, and found that this monomer is a new compound and the resins that have these monomers as a component have high refractive indices, transparency and heat resistance and suitable for use as an optical material for lenses and prisms. The present invention has been completed on the basis of these findings.